Shining Midnight Black
Glow Of The Moon His hands firmly gripping his two blades, Jason took a stance, lifting the larger one and pointing it directly at Hiroto. Under the dim forest sunlight, the blade cast an eerie glow from it's polished black finish. Solele's eyes quivered as she took in these swords. Perhaps it was her Esper heritage but she felt...something from these blades. Nothing like the dagger Jason used to wield, these blades were giving off an immense power, they almost felt otherworldly. "What...what is this?" She stammered, her gaze locked on the blades Jason referred to as the Ekitokuan. "This is Ekitokuan, one of the ten Divine Tools." Jason flashed the smaller blade in his fiance's direction. "To my knowledge, they were created specifically a means to fight homunculi-" "What?" Solele cut him off sharply. "Is that some kind of bad fruit?" "...." Jason flashed her an exasperated expression that spoke volumes of frustration at that remark. "They're bio-humans, created by Giselle herself. During the time when the homunculi were mass-produced as bio-weapons, the concept of these Divine Tools were conceived as a way to fight against them." Jason, however, remembered that Hiroto was still standing there. "I suppose explaining further will just be revealing my entire hand to the enemy. Solele, I'll fill you in on the rest after this one is taken care of." "...I can't help but feel we just avoided a cliché." The girl quipped. Zero himself seemed to ignore him; not really paying attention to Jason, seeing him as naught but a fly buzzing irritatingly around the knight. "I see." He immediately focused upon Tsuruko. "Bujin Gaiki! You shall pay for your crimes against the common people! But there is one thing on my mind...why do you have a human form?" Tsuruko exclaimed in shock, "Ehhhhhhhhhhh!? Don't you transform into the knight with the driver!?" "Not at all. We Bujin are concepts forged to rule humans and guard their territory. What dastardly trick is it this time!?" Zero aimed his blaster towards Tsuruko... And Jason vanished, moving forward as silently as a barn owl before he appeared in front of Hiroto, his gaze stony. Without giving any warning, without a word, Jason tightened his grip on the smaller blade, the trench knife, spinning it so that the tip pointed directly at Hiroto — and he quickly thrust the blade towards the man's neck. "So fast!" Solele had blinked and missed nearly the entire action until Jason had actually arrived at the man's face. She couldn't help but wonder, where had this side of him been when the Bujin Gaiki was attacking? The mantle on Zero's left arm transformed into long, orange sleeve with yellow patterns; on Zero's shoulder, the pauldron appeared similar to that of a falcon's head. Immediately, the knight vanished in the blink of an eye, shooting up into the skies before he descended down with a jumping kick. "Ah, so that's the Mantle System of Zero." Tsuruko sighed as she simply looked upwards, "It's been a while since I've seen it, really." Jason could feel the man's emotions in the heat of battle; his fighting spirit told Jason exactly where to look, and he gripped the smaller blade once more. It became enveloped in a dark, murky energy; Darkness Magic. Jason thrust his hand into the air, and from the smaller blade extended a large, solid barrier of darkness that Zero's kick collided with, creating a massive shockwave but the barrier stood strong. As quickly as it had come, Jason released the barrier, with Zero only inches above him, he swung the longer blade upwards, intending to take the man's leg off in mid-air, where dodging was nigh-impossible. Zero seemed to vanish once more- reappearing to the side with the power of the Falco Mantle adorned upon his arm; skidding along the ground. "Ah, so that's what they do." The emerald compound eyes of the Zero Helmet seemed to shine- as if taking in data. "Very interesting. Though...I doubt that they're all that." Inserting a Super Soul Ring into his Chimera Driver, a gun that resembled magnum or a revolver, with the barrel taking an aesthetic element from a gatling gun manifested in his hand. The pull hammer was in the shape of banana sides to go with the banana-like additions to the side of the gun. Immediately, Zero fired a volley of blasts towards Jason as a distraction. "Ehhhh!?" Tsuruko yelled, "When could knights pull out the core manifestations of the rings? I remember they were created from the envoy fruits, but this is new..." "A bananagun!?" Jason thought incredulously; the shock of such an item almost made him drop his guard. Within seconds, he used the smaller blade to conjure another barrier made of that same murky energy. The moment they came into contact with it, the barrier seemed to absorb them, and then shatter, reflecting a flurry of black needles at Zero. "It's technically not a bananagun!" Tsuruko called out to him- she seemed rather unimpressed about the way that Bujin Zero's weapon looked. "It seems that the ring isn't properly tempered. I mean, normally, it'd take on a sleeker form- something with nothing to do with bananas. Come to think of it, some of the knights here have rougher versions of their counterparts' gear..." Bujin Zero effortlessly countered with a myriad of blasts launched from his weapon in an arcing pattern- diving over and under Jason's needles, they seemed to loop several times before eliminating their targets, before the last shot headed straight torward Jason. "And they also have bad aiming..." "I can see that." Jason noted, the only remaining shot barreling towards him like an angry rhinoceros. With ease, Jason slid by it, the shot slipping past him and Jason simply kept moving, closing the distance between himself and Zero within seconds, leaning in so he was face to face with the man. Jason swung the larger blade down, and, gripping the hilt, he pressed the built in trigger, shooting off two rounds of shots inside his own blade, which let off deafening cracks like any gunshot would. The result was a shockwave being sent throughout the blade that caused it to vibrate violently as it approached the man's torso. CRACK! The sound of blade against metal resonated throughout the atmosphere- and Bujin Zero was struck by Jason's blade. The sword slash itself seemed to deal a fair amount of damage to the Soul Metal that been cut down by his weapon. Bujin Zero moved back without even a single moment of hesitation- though, the Soul Metal had sealed itself back up, the damage had still been done. Bujin Zero immediately attached the gun to his saber, forming a fusion that did indeed look similar to a gunblade- but the function was far different. Pulling the trigger of the gun, it caused the saber to become enshrouded in magical energy, taking the form of an immense blade of light whose brightness was almost blinding. Swinging forward, Bujin Zero unleashed a myriad of sword beams towards Jason, striking from all angles. "Shit!" Accompanying two more deafening cracks, this time from the smaller blade, Jason released the rounds inside his blade once more, in a shocking display of strength and reflex, slashed apart the sword beams that converged on him at a single point; his blades seem to completely tear them apart, rendering them null before they got close to even damaging his body. However, this was naught but a diversion- the Bujin Zero had vanished in an instant using the Falco Mantle- it seemed that he had dissapeared into thin air. Now above Jason by a fair margin, the sleeve that was once the Falco Mantle changed once more- as to become a deep crimson; with golden and scarlet designs littering the mantle, the finishing touch was the bull head which is the form that the pauldron took upon. "Buffa Mantle!" With the mantle that turned him into a mighty glacier equipped, the Bujin Zero descended like a meteor. "Jason, look out!" Solele shouted frantically; being on the sidelines, she saw what he'd missed. Jason heard this shout and cast his eyes towards the sky. His gaze was immediately filled with the descending Zero, and the obscenities running through his mind were fierce. At the speed Zero was descending, even factoring in air resistance applied to his body, the results of contact between him and Jason would end brutally on Jason's side. He had only one option and that was to move, but his speed wouldn't be enough to escape without a glancing blow. Acting quickly, Jason closed his eyes, and he could feel, around his body, the flowing magical energy of the planet. "The Source...it's still here, even in this twisted past..." He felt a strange relief wash over him; ever since his encounter with that strange creature, he'd feared the worst. Embracing the Source in this manner, however, made him feel whole again, and he began to draw on its immense energies. "The Source!" Solele gasped. As an Esper with a full lifetime of training under her belt, she possessed a near unconscious connection with the Source and could feel when another Esper in close proximity to her was drawing on its energy. "You really did learn to use it!" Drawing on the excess magical energy he needed, Jason took it, combined it with his own, and sent the magic straight down to his feet. He bent his knees, and, in a flash, vanished, making breakneck speeds running back, avoiding Zero barely as he came crashing to the ground. Zero plummeted to the ground, immediately switching out of the Buffa Mantle before impact, instead, he donned a long, green sleeve; with numerous spotted patterns upon it; the pauldron took the form of a chameleon's head with golden eyes, and the tongue sticking out. Instantly, Zero dissipated into thin air- it seemed that he simply vanished. "Did he run?" Solele looked around frantically. "No..." Jason said quietly, his eyes focused. "It's not that. He's invisible." To anyone else, it would seem like he'd vanished entirely, however, Jason had one edge over a cheap parlor trick; his empathy could steal feel for the emotions of any person close by, even if they were invisible. And in the heat of battle, concealing one's emotions was almost impossible, especially when they had a goal in mind. "I can feel you, Hiroto..." In a flash of green, Bujin Zero immediately emerged from a sparkle of light- invisibility fading and everything- and he appeared out of nowhere, striking at Jason with numerous magical blasts in the span of an instant, shooting from side to side as to form a 'cage of death'. As soon as he appeared, he vanished once more- Bujin Zero seemed to be moving faster than normal. Jason had to note, the man certainly seemed in a hurry to end it. However, it wasn't Jason's style to die so easily. He gripped the larger of his two swords, and began to charge it with his own magical energy, before slamming it hard into the ground, releasing a large, spherical blast of blue magical energy that spread out in every direction, utterly destroying the blasts coming his way, but continued to spread out as it tried to engulf Zero. Through The Rabbit Hole In an instant, the invisibility wore off- Bujin Zero was struck. No matter how one could evade by setting up defensive parameters, it would still come back to bite them. Nobody was totally invulnerable in the end. Bujin Zero's body was launched back by the sheer force of the strike, being sent crashing into a tree from the result of the impact. However, immediately, Bujin Zero's sleeve turned a dark aqua; mostly blues and golds in texture; the pauldron took the form of a dolphin's head. Said head let out a sonic shockwave towards Jason, allowing Bujin Zero to charge forwards towards him. Jason was no fool; he could feel the aggressive emotions behind Zero, and knew he was coming behind the shockwave. Launching himself forward, Jason swung his blade, releasing a large blast of pure air pressure which collided with the shockwave, mixing and negating each other, leaving Jason and Bujin Zero charging headlong towards the other. Bujin Zero immediately deattached the saber from the gun, changing Mantles immediately as he switched as to become a deep crimson; with golden and scarlet designs littering the mantle, the finishing touch was the bull head which is the form that the pauldron took upon- harnessing the power of the Buffa Mantle once more. Now that he had changed Mantles, he immediately stopped in his tracks, becoming immovable like a pivot. Indeed, his arm became magnetically charged- as he retracted the saber and the gun, firing instantly along with a few slashes. Jason kept barreling forward, due to the speed he was moving at, and just barely managed to skid to a violent stop — right in front of Bujin's blade, which slashed into his face across the bridge of his nose, leaving a deep gash that caused Jason to snarl, instinctively jumping back. "That blade..." He hissed, warm blood pouring down his face, "It cut me so easily..." He was surprised to see that Hiroto was actually a formidable opponent. Bujin Zero merged his weapons again—conjuring a "gunblade" again; he too, had been wounded by Jason's strike. Scanning his ring over the saber, the small triple die began to work inside of the saber, infusing it with soul energy as the die ground to a halt. "Shooting Mirage!" In an instant, a glyph of energy shot forward, pouring all of Bujin Zero's energy into this single strike—summoning a myriad of lions which charged forward towards Jason. "There's got to be a way to win..." Jason gritted his teeth, his eye scanning the area, and they fell on Zero's feet. Underneath were small indents; the ground, when he'd used his "mantle", had been put under stress. "Indents...distance attacks...could it be an instantaneous increase in weight?" It was possible; in fact, more than likely. If Zero was keeping his own distance and staying in just that spot, it could be because he couldn't move from that spot, not quickly enough to make close-range combat a viable option. Jason gripped the Ekitokuan, digging his feet into the ground as the lions charged towards him. He then rocketed forwards towards the creatures, causing Solele to gasp in shock. "What are you doing, idiot!?" She shrieked at the top of her lungs, but Jason didn't bother to respond. As the lions converged on Jason's figure, they erupted in a massive explosion that shot towards the sky. As a dark blur seemed to hit the explosion cloud from where Jason had been only a moment ago, within seconds, Jason rushed out of it, seemingly none the worse for wear, as he ran headlong towards a shocked Zero. The entire air was filled with sound, cracking noises; the sound of gunshots coming from Jason's larger blade, which appeared to be vibrating at immense speeds, nearly a blur in his hand by this point. "What the...how did he survive!?" Solele was starting to get a little frustrated by all of this. That explosion should have taken him out easily, and he'd have had it coming for running right at it. As Jason closed the distance with Zero, the gunshot cracks only increased in intensity and volume, his sword only vibrating faster; he could barely keep it in his hands as the gunshots ceased but briefly. Jason swung the blade diagonally down towards the man's neck, and released a large volley of gunshots once more. As the blade reached Zero, it appeared to pass right through his body, the gunshots ceasing their sound once more as even the blade's own vibrations died down. In that instant, Bujin Zero had suddenly vanished in a non-lethal blast of light- Jason's blade had struck Bujin Zero, dealing a critical blow. Tsuruko couldn't help but remark, "...Ehhhh!? Maybe because, I know both Zeros more than I know the," she sniggered upon uttering the name, "Super Galaxy King", continuing as normal, "It just disappeared instead of exploding..." Jason walked over slowly, and picked up his blade, which had clattered to the ground, picking it up before allowing both blades to vanish. That was a curious action in itself; he did summon them before, was it Requip? "He's gone..." Jason murmured quietly. All had taken was a strike to the heart? Or had it been a heart? Zero, or Hiroto, as it called itself, didn't even seem human. "What did you do?" Solele asked, her voice rather shrill. She walked over to Jason, slamming her fist into his chest, causing him to blink in surprise. "You just ran right towards the enemy's attack...and then your own finishing technique! What was all of that!?" She apparently couldn't follow most of it, though Jason had the sneaking suspicious Tsuruko could. "Calm down Solele, it was nothing." Jason assured her, raising his hands up in self-defence. "I used an afterimage. I may not be the fastest alone, but the Source boosts my speed enough that I can create an afterimage decoy and use it as a cover, concealing my form when I ran into the smoke, unseen. I timed the explosion for my own gunfire, concealing the first hundred or so rounds under the noise of the blast. "And what about that attack of yours? It just...it passed right into him, no blood, no anything!" Not letting him off the hook at all? Jason let out a resigned sigh. "My sword doubles as a unique gun; by letting loose rounds within the sword, it creates a shockwave that vibrates the entirety of the blade. By firing enough of these rounds repeatedly, I increase the vibration speed to the point that the molecules themselves vibrate at a frequency high enough to allow them to pass straight through solid matter. The vibrations themselves die out quickly enough that when the blade becomes solid again, the damage is done." Solele blinked repeatedly, and she suddenly felt a bit confused. This was Jason? How did he even think all of this up? Sure, he had a penchant for explosives as a child but this seemed less like what she'd remembered him fighting as; running straight in and just trying to kill. "Oh! You're still bleeding!" She pointed at the gash across Jason's face, which was still bleeding profusely. "That's right...I'm actually surprised it injured me at all." Jason raised a hand to his nose, the warm blood seeping onto his skin. "Tsuruko, Solele, do either of you happen to carry bandages?" This was actually the first time he'd suffered an injury and Wendy and Chelia hadn't been able to heal it soon after. "Not me." Solele shook her head. Tsuruko immediately pulled bandages out of nowhere- well, it wasn't out of nowhere, but rather, she withdrew it from a tear in subspace- a pocket dimension, using the Connect Ring. "Here you go." "That's...awfully convienent." Solele tilted her head, rather skeptical. How many of these rings did she have? "Basically, there's enough Super Soul Rings to allow me to perform any feat." Tsuruko looked puzzled for a moment. "But I can't find any more..." Jason took the bandages from her, applying the medicinal strips to his nose. It would gradually heal and the strip would fall off when it was ready. "Can we just get out of here already?" Solele was right, before Zero had arrived, they have been about to delve into the crack in time Jason had found. "I suppose we should, before something else comes our way and becomes another obstacle." Jason agreed. Tsuruko realized something- no matter how far they'd try and get away from the wierdness, it'd keep coming back...weirder, and weirder. It was just like life in that way- as nobody could predict it. "I can imagine that pointy-hatted idiot coming out of nowhere right now. I swear, I got a distinct 'I'm going to try and murder everyone with a laser from space and a giant robot in thirty years' vibe from her. And that was thirty years ago, so just a head up." "I'm going to shut you down as soon as I can." Solele hissed bitterly; did Tsuruko even hear half the things that came out of her mouth? Jason walked back over to the crack, which had since returned to its previous state, and he extended his hand, where it opened once again like a mouth, and the vastness of time energy washed over the trio. "This is it...let's go." The three simply leapt straight into the swirling vortex of time, and they could feel the energies ripping at their bodies, causing uncomfortable sensations as they were whisked through time and space, before the crack erupted open on the other side, expelling Jason, Solele, and Tsuruko in a burst of white light, causing them to hit the ground hard. "Time and space travel without a proper medium..." Jason groaned; the entire ordeal was nauseating to even an Esper body. Abruptly, Jason shuddered, feeling an immense darkness wash over him, and his entire body trembled. "...It can't be..." He looked upwards from the ground the three of them had landed on, and what greeted his eyes was that which he dreaded; the Bujin Gaiki looming over the three of them. END